I lived in Big Spring for 3 years. My house was 6 miles from the refinery. Folks would often discuss "when" the place would blow up not "if". As large as this explosion seems, I don't think it was as catastophic as it could have been. There were no deaths and that may be because it was a holiday. Maybe there were at a skeleton crew.

Big Spring is an interesting town. They have a Viet Nam Memorial that kicks ass. It is also the home of the oldest Harley Davidson dealership in all of Texas.